TB is a 'medical emergency'

"All have agreed that TB and drug resistant TB in particular is a public health emergency that must be confronted with our best efforts and resources to curb preventable new infections and deaths."

Tuberculosis is a medical emergency that requires urgent attention, non-governmental organisations said on Thursday.

"This represents a mass appeal from the most prominent figures and organisations in science, medicine and civil society," the Treatment Action Campaign, Section 27 and Medecines sans Frontiers (MSF) said in a joint statement.

"All have agreed that TB and drug resistant TB in particular is a public health emergency that must be confronted with our best efforts and resources to curb preventable new infections and deaths."

The three organisations have issued a memorandum to the SA TB conference underway in Durban.

In the memorandum, the organisations requested the conference to declare TB a public health emergency and for the response to TB to be significantly geared up.

The majority of the 1200 delegates at the conference had already endorsed the memorandum, they said.

"We expect that many more will vote before the conference closes on Friday morning.

"We hope that Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, will add his vote tomorrow morning when he addresses the closing plenary of the conference," the organisations said.

The conference started on Tuesday and will end on Friday.